Pandora's Box
by Mapu
Summary: Complete: Set a few weeks after the final show of season 1 (I never give up.) Things don’t go smoothly on a dig in southern Turkey Juliet gets a warning. Nikko has trouble dealing with his new ability and trying to keep it hidden from the team
1. Default Chapter

**Veritas: Pandora's Box  
by Mapu**

**_Disclaimer_**: Veritas: The Quest belongs to Touchstone and the ABC Corporation

**_Warnings_**: Series spoilers for those who haven't seen all the episodes.

**_Thanks_**: to Rosemary for her invaluable help with editing and pointing out plot inconsistencies in this story.

_**Background notes:**_

Pandora's box, a famous Greek legend, about a jar (not box) gifted by the gods. It contained all the evils of man. Pandora, the first woman, opened the box and let them out and was badly hurt by doing so. But the box also held the spirit of hope. Hope healed Pandora and with hope in the world mankind has a way to fight and be protected from the evils.

1 The Lycian were the inhabitants of what is now south-west turkey and not all that much is really known about them – they were supposed to have a free and peaceful system of government that was the envy of many – including the civil war plagued ancient Greeks.

2 The quote "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man." is credited to Friedrich Nietzsche - it seemed to fit what I needed so I used it on the box.

3 Kukulcán is the Mayan name for the Toltec Quetzalcoatl – the wise and favoured of the gods. Kukulcán has a cult dedicated to him still in existence.

_**TURKEY**_

Particles of dust glittered in the powerful beams of their flashlights, giving the deep cavern a timeless, mythical feeling. Juliet sighed in relief and stretched, grateful to be able to stand up straight again. Climbing down the long shaft, and then crawling through the difficult twisting rock tunnel to get here had been exhausting; even Dr. Zond was breathing a little harder from the exertion. A double ring of tall, cylindrical sandstone pillars supported the central dome of the high ceiling. Most of the ancient Lycian**1 **designs carved into the surface of the pillars had been ravaged by time, but enough remained to show the amount of effort and care that had gone into the excavation and construction of the chamber.

It wasn't yet summer in Turkey, but the sun was powerful enough to scorch unprotected skin; despite her precautions, Juliet could feel the tingle of sunburn across her nose and cheeks from the days spent hiking over the dry, rocky landscape to find the entrance to the caverns. Time out of the sun was a welcome change and the cool moisture in the air soothed her discomfort.

Juliet shone her flashlight toward Calvin to give him enough light to work with as the young archaeologist knelt on the pock-marked rock floor setting up the equipment he pulled from the bag Vincent had handed him. After he turned on a portable lantern creating a bright pool of light around his work area, Calvin nodded his thanks to her and Juliet joined Dr. Zond, Vincent and Nikko as they spread out through the cavern to check the area. While she began her survey Juliet listened to Calvin checking in with Maggie who was back at the Veritas headquarters.

"Maggie, Yeah, I can hear you. Reception is a little distorted, probably too much rock between us and the boost transmitter on the surface, but I can hear you. We're in the cavern. It's just as your research described, and the site looks untouched so with a little luck the artefact, whatever it is, is still here… No problem, Maggie, we'll be careful, and find or no find we'll send you what we have before the satellite is out of range."

Calvin finished his call to New York and continued his task of setting up the computers and the other lightweight but high-tech analysis gear they'd brought down with them.

Juliet played the light across the curved wall in front of her. Several yards away Nikko did the same thing, slowing moving towards her.

Juliet was worried. Something was wrong with Nikko but when she tried to get him to talk about it, he wouldn't open up. Dr. Zond had also tried, but from the increased level of tension between father and son, it was obvious the discussion hadn't gone well. Even Vincent, who seemed to have made a strong connection with Nikko, had gotten nowhere. At first Juliet hadn't been too worried; Nikko was smart, but he was still a teenager, and therefore subject to all the drama and emotional turmoil that came with being that age. But as days had turned into weeks and Nikko's behaviour had deteriorated, she'd realized the problem was more serious than she'd first thought.

Juliet watched Nikko break off his general scan of the wall to focus the beam on one section, his head to the side in the pose that, as his teacher, she had come to recognise as an attitude of deep thought.

"Find something, Nikko?" she asked.

For a moment there was no reply, and then he nodded. "Yeah… maybe. Look."

Juliet moved to stand next to the teenager and focused her flashlight on the same place as his. It took her a few moments to see it, it wasn't the symbols and writing that she was expecting, but a faint discolouration on the rock surface that formed a pattern… it looked almost like a picture.

"See it?" Nikko asked.

Juliet nodded. "Dr. Zond, Nikko's found something here," she called out.

The other Veritas team members quickly joined them, and the additional illumination from their flashlights brought the design into clear view. Juliet admired the intricate pattern, from where she stood, the image looked to be an eagle in flight. Looking closer at the design she could see it was formed entirely from tiny carved indents in the rock. It must have taken the artisan who built it a great deal of time, care and patience to produce the effect, and it humbled her to realize that she and the Veritas team were the first people to see the work in more than two thousand years.

"This is it. This is the key, good work, Nikko," Solomon said. Nikko did nothing to acknowledge the praise, ignoring his father's comment as though he had not heard it at all. The young woman could see the flash of disappointment on Dr. Zond's face, but the older man said nothing.

"Now all we need to do is find the lock," Vincent added.

"It would help if we knew what these dots were meant to represent," Solomon said thinking aloud.

One point in the design was highlighted from the rest by being raised instead of recessed like all the others. Solomon reached out and pressed on the raised stone. Nothing happened.

"Well, I didn't think it would be that easy," he remarked dryly.

"It has a purpose, we just need to figure out what," Vincent said.

For a minute no one in the team spoke, each person trying to see a meaning in the pattern, or significance to the raised section.

Calvin shook his hand at the wall excitedly. "That's it, I've got it! They're holes… like on the floor. Look at the floor it's covered with shallow holes; if this wall is the key, then the floor could be the lock."

Solomon glanced down at the rock floor, shining his flashlight over a part of it and noticing the pock-marked holes. He clasped Calvin's shoulder in a friendly grip. "I think you're right."

Calvin was excited with the possibility of discovery, and it showed in his face as he nodded and grinned at the older archaeologist. "And all we have to do is match the pattern on the wall to the same pattern on the wall, find the hole that corresponds to the raised one and we'll have the answer," he said.

Dr. Zond looked around the dark chamber. "We need to get some lights set up in here."

"We've got spare lanterns in the pack," Calvin said heading toward the equipment.

Juliet glanced over at Nikko, even in the low light she could see the boy's face was twisted in a mixture of resentment and hurt. _He's envious of Calvin and his father_, Juliet realised. It wasn't the first time Nikko had been jealous of Calvin, but Juliet had thought the teenager had at last gotten passed that; it seemed she had been wrong. Nikko's shoulders seemed to slump a little as he followed the others back into the centre of the chamber.

_The kid is crazy_, Juliet thought. Calvin shared Nikko's father's work, but everyone knew that the boy owned Solomon Zond's heart. Everyone except Nikko it appeared.


	2. Chapter 2

It hadn't taken the team long to set up enough illumination over the floor so that the designs formed by the holes became clearly visible but it was taking them a lot longer to find the wall's specific pattern among the larger pattern covering the ground. Nikko stood back and watched as his father and Calvin conferred over the design on the wall and the one on the floor. A number of times the pair of archaeologists had thought they'd found the right design on the floor, only to discover a slight variation. It was worse than a "Where's Wally" puzzle. Nikko tried to help but was unable to focus on the job, he was still too upset about the recent fight with his father and he couldn't help feeling as though he was in the way. He stepped back and watched the others work. Not that his father had noticed his withdrawal, and why would he when he had Calvin around?

Calvin was a better protégé; he was a real archaeologist, his father liked him… and he was normal, not some freaky mutant kid always getting into trouble and bothering him. The teenager tried to tell himself it was good his dad had someone with the right skills he could train and share his important life's work with. Nikko had decided he wasn't going to do anything to get in the way of that, but the decision didn't make it hurt any less. He was finding it hard to stand back and see what he'd always wanted for himself given so effortlessly to someone else, and it wasn't fair.

Nikko had recently finally felt as though he'd started to connect with his old man. His dad had even spontaneously hugged him, for the first time since he was a child. Then, bang; minutes later and everything had changed. The memory was so vivid it still scared him. He'd been feeling great… loved. For a few moments he'd really felt that he understood his father and he'd felt the older man's affection for him when he'd given the teenager that unexpected hug. Then Nikko had reached for his drink and, as if his hand had been a magnet, the can had just about leapt across the table into his palm.

Since then his curiosity, despite a deep fear that he would succeed, had made him try to move other objects. At first he'd been relieved when nothing had happened, and he'd begun to hope that he'd just imagined the whole crazy thing, or that it had something to do with the ring of truth and wasn't something coming from him. Then it had happened again. Alone in his room, far from the ring, Nikko had moved a book, sending it spinning across his desk. Now he could feel the power within him all the time, just below the surface and it terrified him.

More than the ability, it was the physical sensation of the power that scared him. He recognised it. Nikko had felt that same power before… the day his mother died.

Memories of that terrible day still haunted him. He saw light from the lost temple as it lashed out, consuming his mother in a dazzling flash and then hitting him, throwing him to the ground. Nikko remembered the feeling of the light swallowing him, burning through his veins like a brilliant fire then the sudden dark. It was that same power he could feel inside him now.

He'd awoken alone, back at the camp; their guide nowhere to be seen, and his mother gone forever. Before his father had come to rescue him, Nikko had had a long time alone to think about what had happened in the temple, and had come to realize that his mother's death had been his fault. She had been safely touching the sun artefact set into the temple wall, but seeing the glowing light had frightened him and, disobeying her, Nikko had run toward her. That's when the light had exploded outward. His return had triggered it. Her death had been his fault.

When his father had come, Nikko had wanted to tell him about the light, tell him how sorry he was for being bad, but the words wouldn't come, and so he'd said nothing. Nikko could remember thinking_. What if he doesn't love me anymore? _A childish thought, but as it turned out and accurate one, his father had stopped caring for him. It had taken years for Nikko to get back a sense of his father's love, and now he was going to lose it all over again.

It was pointless. There was no way Solomon Zond would forgive the person that had killed his wife, even if that person was his son; the man had dedicated his life to following his lost wife's mission. Nothing, not even Nikko, meant more to him than that.

"That's it, Cal, you've found it!" Solomon called, interrupting Nikko's dark thoughts.

_Figures Calvin would find it_, Nikko thought. He knew he wasn't being fair to Cal but at the moment he didn't care.

After finding the pattern it was short work to identify the crucial indentation that was the key to the lock. The whole team gathered around, watching Solomon as he fed a fibre optic sensor into the hole to examine it.

"It's not that deep but I can't see any mechanisms or triggers, and it's too narrow for a finger" Solomon mused.

"That's good news," Nikko muttered, more than a little horrified at the thought. He hated it when his father touched an ancient lock, you could never tell when they were going to be booby-trapped.

"Could it be activated by pressure or weight?" Calvin asked.

Nikko's father nodded. "Yeah, maybe…"

Solomon took a metal probe from his kit and pressed it down into the depression in the floor. A harsh click echoed around the chamber, followed by low grating rumble. A small stone several feet away slid aside revealing a narrow recess. From within the space a short pedestal rose and on top of it sat a small pewter box, covered in intricate designs and lettering. His father visually examined the mounting and object carefully, and apparently satisfied that there were no hidden surprises, removed the box. Turning to the rest of the group, the older man gave the team one of his goofy grins, "That wasn't so tough."

Calvin took the box when Solomon handed it over, carefully examining the inscriptions covering the surface. "It's an ancient Greek dialect."

"Are you sure?" the older archaeologist said, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm positive. Hey, Nikko, hold this for a second will ya."

Calvin thrust the artifact into Nikko's hands and reached into an equipment pack for the optical scanner.

"Just hold it up for a minute," the younger archaeologist instructed. Wordlessly Nikko did as he was asked, turning the box to let Calvin scan each surface. Calvin and Solomon moved to the computer to examine the data.

"Yeah, you're right. The inscription symbols are Greek. But it looks like most of it's in some kind of cipher."

Calvin nodded and pointed to the screen. "Only this line along the front rim is in clear text._ Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man_… that's cheerful."** 2**

The older Zond smiled. "Let's send this to Maggie, and see if we can figure out what the rest of it says, and we'd better make sure we're not missing anything here. We don't want to have to make a return trip."

His father sounded excited and Nikko knew that for the next several hours there would be nothing that could tear the man away from his new find. Nikko still held the box and took a good look at it. It was beautiful; the silver sheen from the edges of the elaborate designs picking up the light, apart from of its historical significance the box was simply pretty.

"It's beautiful," Juliet said admiring the box in his hands.

"Yeah, makes you wonder why it's been tuck down a deep hole for the last few thousand years."

"Maybe, just to keep it safe," the girl mused.

Nikko still had a hard time thinking of her as "Miss Driol," his teacher. Juliet was smart, stunningly beautiful and only a few years older than himself, and since the moment they'd met the teenager had been attracted to her. Unfortunately, it was obvious she didn't feel the same way about him. Nikko had no doubts that Juliet liked him, but as her student and possibly a friend, there was never going to be anything between them because she wouldn't let that happen.

Still, it didn't hurt to flirt with the teacher sometimes. Nikko bowed, a short, gallant bob, and presented the box to Juliet, "A gift for my lady."

Juliet smiled. "Thank you kind sir," she said playfully and took the box.

"Hmm, it's warm…" The young woman began, but before she could say anything else the box cracked open, a bright golden light playing over her face. Juliet's eyes opened in surprise and wonder for a moment then she gasped.

Nikko moved fast and managed to catch the girl before she collapsed onto the hard stone floor. The box, knocked free from her hand rolled away, the lid closing and the light extinguished.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dad!" Nikko called out.

His father was beside him in an instant helping to support the collapsed girl who had lost consciousness. She moaned softly as the men lowered her to lay flat on the rock floor. His father checked the girl's pulse and smoothed her hair back away from her face, then pointed toward a box of equipment sitting near one of the pillars several meters away.

"Nikko, get me the thermal blanket from that medic-kit, we need to keep her warm in case she goes into shock."

The teenager went to the box, opening the cover and pulling out gear until he found the blanket. A small trickle of sand falling onto his hand and an ominous rumble was all the warning Nikko got before the tremor hit.

Nikko was thrown backward over the equipment pack and hard against the pillar behind him, before falling face-first to the ground, the breath knocked from him. He coughed, fighting for air and tried to get up. The ground was still heaving and shaking beneath him when he made it to his feet, and Nikko had to concentrate on keeping his balance. He heard his father shout his name then a moment later felt a hard body hit his from behind. Again he was thrown to the ground, this time his body was sent rolling several feet across the ground. Rocks and soil rained down, smashing into the ground and striking soft flesh indiscriminately, Nikko covered his head and neck as best he could with his hands. Then as suddenly as it began the shaking stopped. Dust and small stones still fell from above for a few minutes, but the worst seemed to be over, and eventually even the smaller debris stopped falling.

Nikko raised his head to survey the damage; it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. Although several sections of the cavern roof had fallen in most of the support pillars were still standing, and apart from the choking dust filling the air the cavern seemed to be basically intact. The worst of the rock fall had been around his area. Through the dust the teenager could make out Vincent's shadowy form hovering over Juliet, and close by, sitting near the computer equipment, Calvin nursed his right wrist against his chest.

"Calvin, you okay?"

"Yeah, just banged my wrist, I'm fine. How's Dr. Zond?" Calvin asked looking past Nikko. Nikko turned and saw his father lying crumpled on his side and not moving, surrounded by a number of rocks.

"Dad!" Nikko cried, going to the older man's side.

His father was unconscious, a wide dark patch of blood matting his hair to the left side of his head. Nikko resisted the urge to move him, from the modest amount he knew of first aid, the teenager was aware that shifting a patient could be a dangerous thing to do; instead he pressed his fingers against his father's neck to check for a pulse. Nikko was relieved to feel the slow but steady pulse beat beneath his fingertips.

Vincent joined him and began to expertly check over the unconscious man's vital signs. "Is he okay?" Nikko asked, trying to keep the fear he felt from sounding in his voice.

Vincent's movements were swift and efficient. "He has a head injury, probable concussion, and damage to his left shoulder… a broken clavicle, but apart from that I can't tell. The sooner we get help for him the better." Vincent took the emergency blanket that Nikko still held and spread it over the still form.

Nikko couldn't believe it, his father never got hurt, the man was just about indestructible… but then Nikko remembered he had thought the same thing about his mother when as a child, and he'd been wrong then.

Calvin joined them and seeing the damage to his wrist, Vincent began to treat the injury.

"How's Juliet?" Calvin asked, wincing with the pain of Vincent's ministrations.

"Still unconscious but she seems to have not been hurt by the tremor. Our equipment?"

Calvin shrugged. "I tried both radios but I'm not getting a signal, I couldn't reach Maggie. They look undamaged; it could be a transmitter problem. We lost one computer, half our lights and the portable analyzer but we still have everything else, and we still have our data. Our gear's in better shape than we are."

A few feet away Juliet stirred and mumbled but didn't wake.

Juliet opened her eyes and climbed to her feet. She wasn't in the cavern anymore; she seemed to be standing in an open-air Central American market area. The sun shone brightly overhead and everywhere people tended to their business. Familiar sights, sounds and smells that she recognised from a dozen trips to similar places surrounded her but Juliet couldn't recognise the actual city, and she had no idea where the rest of the team were.

"Dr. Zond?… Calvin?... Nikko?... Vincent?" there was no answer from any of the team.

The young woman approached a maternal looking woman selling fruits at one of the near by stalls. "Excuse me, have you seen my friends?" Juliet got no response so tried her question in Spanish, when that didn't work she tried a number of other languages. The older woman went about her business with no recognition or sign that she had even heard Juliet's question. Throwing her arms upward in frustration, Juliet spun around and shouted. "Can anyone hear me?"

"I can," said a shadowy figure leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the road.

Juliet felt a wave of relief at the thought that someone could hear her and began to approach the figure, but something about him made her stop before she got too close. She couldn't see his face but a strange prickling sensation warned her that the man was dangerous.

"Who are you?"

The figure laughed softly, it wasn't a pleasant sound. "A predictable question. I have provided this place so that we may talk, do you like it?"

"You didn't answer me," Juliet stated, refusing to be distracted.

The figure laughed harshly again. "No… you are intelligent… for a woman. I didn't answer and nor is it important. What is important is the message I have to teach you. If you must have an answer, you may know me as the messenger."

Suddenly the figure vanished from the wall and materialized beside her. The transition frightened her but she refused to let herself appear intimidated. It was then that Juliet noticed all the other people from the market had disappeared. She was alone with the messenger and that realisation worried her even more.

"It is important you not be blinded by fear, in fear there is no hope." The stranger raised his hands to his cowl and lowered it back away from his face.

"Dr. Zond?" Juliet asked looking up in shock into the familiar features of her mentor and employer.

The messenger shook his head. "No. Although I know Solomon Zond… perhaps better than he knows himself. Come, there is much for you to see before you can understand my message."

The Solomon figure took her arm and pulled her away from the market; Juliet resisted at first but was powerless to stop him and was forced to go where he led.


	4. Chapter 4

Nikko swallowed hard and hesitantly placed one hand on his father's forehead, the pale skin under his fingers was cold and clammy. The teenager's other hand, which gripped his father's undamaged right hand, tightened in fear and he had to fight away the childish tears that threatened to fall. He hated that he could do nothing.

His father looked strangely old without the force of his personality the older man's unconscious face revealed the faint lines that years of danger and worry had put there. The teenager knew he'd caused more than a few of those times of worry over the years, and he regretted that. Looking up Nikko met Calvin's eyes; he could see a similar fear there and for a few moments he felt a connection to the other young man.

Vincent returned from checking the state of the tunnel and stopped to check on Juliet's condition.

"How's she doing?" Calvin asked when he joined the others.

"Restless but still out of it," Vincent said. He looked over at the artifact they had recovered now resting innocently on its side. "No one touches that."

Nikko nodded, he had no intention of going anywhere near the thing, and he wished they had never found it. There was little doubt in Nikko's mind that the box was somehow responsible for causing the earthquake.

Vincent nodded toward Calvin's injured arm, now heavily bandaged. "Will you be all right left here?"

The young archaeologist glanced meaningfully toward Nikko for a second then nodded. "Yeah, I can take care of things."

Realising the meaning behind the glance, Nikko began to shake his head. There was no way he was going to leave his father here like this. No way.

"The tunnel is damaged but a two-man team might get through. I need your help, Nikko," Vincent said in deep, calm tone.

The teenager shook his head firmly. "No, I'm not leaving him."

Vincent rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your father needs your help; you need to be stronger than your fear."

Nikko shook his head again denying it, but he knew his mentor was right. There was nothing he could really do here except hold his father's hand and worry. Calvin was capable of doing what little could be done to care for the hurt members of the team, but Nikko knew both his father and Juliet need professional medical help. He could be far more use assisting Vincent. Nikko sighed and nodded. He got to his feet and looked down at the unconscious man, unable to stop the thought that this could be the last time he saw his father alive.

Juliet found herself standing on a wide, open field, and towering above her a massive Mayan terraced pyramid eclipsed the sun. Jungle bordered the area on three sides while behind the temple she could see the deep blue of the ocean.

The temple wasn't a ruin; it actually looked to be still under construction and was obviously in use. Dozens of people in Mayan dress stood on various levels of the temple making offerings and singing prayers. The alter cover wasn't yet constructed, only the support columns stood, and the sun reflected so brightly off the gold alter at the top that it hurt to look at it. The place radiated life, energy and peace. In the distance wave crashed against the shore, the sound mingling with the noises of the jungle and the chant of the worshipers to create a pleasing environment.

"Where are we?"

For a moment as he glanced around, smiling fondly at people, the stranger looked like the Dr. Zond Juliet knew and cared for. "This is my home, as it was, so many years ago. There is not much time, we must hurry." He took the young woman's hand and tried to pull her toward the temple.

"Look!" Juliet snapped, yanking her arm free from the messenger's grasp. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on. Where are my friends? Is this a dream or... that's it, isn't it? I'm dreaming this."

"Would knowledge that you are unconscious ease your mind? It makes no difference to the message… or the warning I carry. Awake or asleep, real or imagined you must choose your path and you must choose carefully, the fate of your world rests in your hand."

The words chilled her. "Warning… what warning?"

The messenger shook his head. "Later, there is much to witness first." With that less than helpful answer the messenger began to move away, steadily climbing the steps up the side of the temple.

"Wait!" Juliet called, hurrying to catch up to the man. "I don't understand… what warning?"

The Solomon figure said nothing else and Juliet was forced to focus on climbing the massive steps to keep pace with him. After what seemed to be hours they reached the top, a strong fresh breeze from the ocean blew in her face, cooling her and carrying with it the clean scent of the sea. Juliet stood beside the messenger and took in the spectacular view. From the top of the pyramid it was obvious that they were on a small island. In the distance, beyond the encroaching jungle, a wide band of blue water surrounded them and beyond that, made hazy by its distance, she could see another larger land mass.

"From this place knowledge and truth dominated the lives of men. Here there was harmony. Evil held no sway, and hope for all ruled. For a time there was peace, but that peace was lost," the messenger said.

He pointed to a young, teenaged girl, no more than fourteen years-old, as she climbed the last pyramid step up to the alter level. The girl was a pretty child, with wide dark eyes and her long hair tied in twin braids decorated by wildflowers framing her face, but her looks were marred by the expression of contempt on her face.

"Power dressed as innocence. Ungoverned and unfocused it unleashed terrible destruction and all that had been built was lost."

Juliet watched as the girl entered the temple and reached for the disk mounted between two golden brackets. The young archaeologist recognised the artifact as similar to the wheel they had found in Tibet, and she had no doubt she was seeing a section of the ring of truth. The moment the girl touched the artifact a brilliant flash of light engulfed the scene. When the light faded and Juliet could see again, there was nothing left of the altar but a ruin.

Looking around she realised the destruction covered the whole island, where there had once been lush grassland and thick jungle, only dry, barren ground remain. Nothing interrupted the desolation of the ruin; no animals, no plants, no sign of life survived at all. Juliet noticed even the insect sounds had ceased. On the far horizon where the larger land mass lay she could see a thick haze of smoke and knew the destruction had reached far wider than the island itself.

Periodically, then with increasing frequency the gentle ocean waves began to break over the dry, blackened land of the island. Each wave reaching further inland than the last until finally the waves swallowed the atoll completely. The waves began to break on the steps of the temple itself.

_The island is sinking,_ Juliet thought.

"Yes, but what was lost can be rebuilt. There is still hope," the messenger answered her unvoiced thought.

"I don't understand why you have shown me this, what do you want from me… who are you?"

"After the fall, the few priests who remained built protections to defend the treasure from those of power who would abuse its gift. I am one such safeguard, there are others. I am the messenger. You understand the danger; another child of power threatens this world. You must stop him at any cost… if you hope to save the rest."


	5. Chapter 5

Nikko lay on his stomach and stretched forward to push away a heavy stone blocking the narrow passage, grunting with effort it took. Once he'd moved it far enough aside he was able to pull himself through the constricted space. Behind him he could hear Vincent moving over the uneven surface. Clearing the tunnel had been hard work but at least the effort and danger of working in the semi-collapsed tunnel had distracted him from his worries about his father.

After nearly an hour of difficult inch by inch progress the teenager reached the end of the narrow section and hauled himself out onto a relatively open area. Rolling his body away from the mouth to give Vincent room to get free, Nikko lay on his back for a moment and tried to catch his breath. Above him, extending for nearly three hundred meters the vertical shaft leading to the surface still waited to be climbed. Where he lay Nikko could see a narrow slice of crystal-clear blue sky far above. Vincent pushed the equipment bag through the mouth of the tunnel and Nikko scrambled to his feet to take from him.

While Vincent pulled himself through the opening, the teenager unzipped the bag and took out the radio and checked for a signal. As he had expected there was no reception. The debris and rocks had made passage difficult but there hadn't been enough fallen material to interfere with their state of the art communications equipment, it had to be a problem at the top. The sooner they could contact Maggie the better it would be for his father and Juliet.

"Looks like we're climbing," Vincent said.

Both Nikko and Vincent looked up the rock wall. It was hard to tell from the ground what, if anything, the tremor had done to the climb conditions. Going to the base of the wall the older man tugged hard on each of the rappelling ropes left in place from their earlier decent. The ropes all held fast, and Vincent nodded. "They appear secure, but we should not trust these lines. The earthquake may have changed conditions, so check your anchors on each pitch."

The teenager nodded and went to where their climbing gear had been stacked and sorted though it for his and Vincent's harnesses. He handed the other man the equipment and quickly pulled on his own. After checking each other's rigging was securely in place, the pair each selected a rope and hooked on to begin the ascent. Even if it went perfectly they were in for a long hard climb.

Calvin shook his head at the computer screen, the translation algorithm he'd been trying wasn't working. In fact nothing he'd tried so far had produced a result that made sense but at least attempting to translate the writing kept his mind from his injured friends, and his worry about Nikko and Vincent's safety.

Juliet mumbled and moved her head. The girl seemed to be in the grip of a very unpleasant dream, and Calvin was tempted to try and wake her but he wasn't sure if that was medically the right thing to do. Solomon had also shown a few signs of movement over the last few minutes and Calvin took as an indication the older man was trying to wake.

The young archaeologist took a break from working and watched his mentor, Zond moaned softly and his brow creased in pain. Putting aside his laptop, Calvin concentrated on the injured man; this was the most animated the other had been since he'd been injured.

"Dr. Zond? Can you hear me?" Calvin lightly tapped the older man's cheek, trying to get him to wake. He was rewarded with another low moan.

"Come on, Dr. Zond, time to wake up. We've got lots of work to do," Calvin encouraged.

Eventually Solomon began to come around, first moving his undamaged arm, then turning his head from side to side before finally opening his eyes. Calvin looked carefully into the other's hazel eyes, checking to see if both eyes tracked together and that the dilation of the pupils was normal. His knowledge of first aid and general medicine was limited but experience working on dangerous assignments with Dr. Zond over the years had taught him enough to recognise a concussion when he saw one. From what he could see Dr. Zond had a first class case, and now that the older man was awake Calvin knew he would have to keep him conscious, or risk even more serious problems.

"Hey, you're awake. How do you feel?" Calvin asked, trying to bring the injured man's attention to full focus, he had no doubt the answer to his question would be a variation of lousy.

Solomon didn't answer, instead his eyes began to drift closed again.

"Oh, no you don't. You gotta stay with me here… what would I tell Nikko if I let you just go to sleep on us, huh?"

Mentioning his son's name had the desired positive effect and brought Zond fully awake.

"Nikko, where is he? The cave-in… is he hurt?"

"No, Nikko's fine, he wasn't hurt at all. He's with Vincent; they've gone back through the tunnel to get help."

Dr. Zond gasped as he tried to sit up and Calvin put a hand against his chest to hold him down. "No, Dr. Zond, you're hurt. You've got to lay still."

The older man looked annoyed but at least he stopped trying to rise. "The tunnel… no, it's too dangerous, we need to call Maggie for help."

"No, we can't, we've lost the signal."

"Oh… how long have they been gone?"

Calvin didn't want to answer that question; he'd begun to worry about the length of time the pair had been away too. "Around an hour," he answered. In truth Vincent and Nikko had been gone closer to two hours, but didn't want to worry Zond. It didn't work.

"An hour! We have to go after them; they could be in trouble…"

"Dr. Zond, we can't. Neither one of us is in any shape to help them."

Calvin tried to hold the anxious man still with his uninjured hand but despite Zond's own injuries, he was still strong enough to make holding him down difficult. From her position across the floor, Juliet cried out inarticulately in her sleep. The sound distracted the older man, obviously reminding him of his responsibilities to the whole team, and Calvin pressed the point.

"Nikko is fine, Vincent will take care of him, and they know what they are doing. We would only be getting in the way, besides we would have to leave Juliet here alone."

Solomon nodded and relented. He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them before Calvin began to be concerned he'd fallen asleep. Zond nodded toward Juliet. "How's she doing?"

"Physically she seems fine, but she's still out. That box really did a number on her."

"Where is the box?"

Calvin pointed to an equipment pack leaning against one of the undamaged pillars. "I put it in an artefact case, don't worry, I didn't touch it, but I assumed we were still taking it with us."

"Absolutely, we need to find out what happened, what it did to Juliet."

The young archaeologist nodded, falling into his role as a researcher, and it was the best way he could think of to get Zond to stay awake. "I've been looking over the box's inscriptions. There seems to be multiple embedded codes layered together in the writings. I've only been able to translate the surface and simplest layer so far."

Solomon looked at him suspiciously, "That's a lot of work for an hour."

Calvin coloured, "Ah, well it's been a little more than an hour."

"How long… exactly?"

The young man looked at his watch then back at Zond. "Two hours and seven minutes," he admitted.

The older man smiled and slowly shook his head. "You've been spending too much time with Nikko, you're learning his bad habit of economising the truth. So tell me what you've found so far."

"Okay, well the first layer is a fable. A story about a girl who was given a gift, it doesn't say what, but she used it selfishly and brought about a great death…"


	6. Chapter 6

The island was gone; submerged beneath meters of calm, crystal blue seas, not even the twisted remnants of what had been the jungle's tallest trees broke the surface, but Juliet knew it wasn't over… the island was still sinking. As she watched the edge of another pyramid step was overtaken, the water deepening until the entire step was submerged, then the water level began to creep up the side of the next step.

Juliet was beginning to become afraid, and she redirected her fear to fuel her anger. This messenger might look like Dr. Zond but he lacked the basic decency that was the cornerstone of the real man's personality and Juliet was sick of being treated like a something the messenger had found on the bottom of his shoe. She wanted some straight answers from him.

"Look, I've had enough of this. Who are you talking about? Who is this child of power?"

The messenger turned and stepped close to the young woman, invading her personal space and forcing her to back away a step. He leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear, his breath cold against her skin. "You already know.'

Without really thinking about it a name came to Juliet's mind. "Nikko?" she muttered

Without answering the messenger stepped back and turned away, surveying the steadily rising water.

"The power is already awake, without guidance and control it is a power to be feared, and a threat to be stopped… a task that belongs to you."

"Why choose me?"

The messenger turned his cold, dead eyes toward her again. "No one betrays like a woman," he said, making no attempt to hide the scorn in his tone.

Juliet shook her head ignoring the insult to focus on the more important issue. "You're wrong. Nikko is young and little impulsive but he really cares about people. Even if he did have a power he would never do anything to harm anyone; he is one of the kindest people I know. He is not dangerous."

In a sudden movement the Solomon figure pushed her back until she was pinned against one of the ruined alter pillars, unable to move. "You fool! You have seen what is at risk. The child may yet be innocent but evil hunts him. Soon it will know his name and if the darkness finds him before he finds the light he will become a destroyer."

"What do you think I can do about it? If his own father can't save him how am I supposed to?"

The messenger laughed bitterly. "You are not fated to save him, woman, you are destined to kill him!"

"Kill Nikko… you're insane! I couldn't kill anyone, let alone Nikko!"

The messenger's, stale breath washed over Juliet's cheek. "You would save the life of one at the cost of all?"

Refusing to believe it, Juliet shoved the messenger back away from her and stepped clear of the pillar. "No, there has to be another way. You said without guidance the power was dangerous, what if we were to give Nikko the guidance he needed. Would that make the power safe?"

The messenger shook his head, the gesture looking similar to one Dr. Zond would use. "Guidance can not be enforced, it has to be sought, and the opportunities are being lost."

A glimmer of hope flared, "What opportunities?"

"Three chances have been gifted to the child of power to avoid the terrible fate that awaits him, and he as already allowed one to pass him unrealized."

"Yes, but Nikko still has two more chances… right? There's still hope for him."

"Less than you may think. Each subsequent opportunity is less appealing and harder to submit to that the one before it. He has refused the simplest of chances, what hope is left that he will choose a more difficult one?"

For the first time since she's met the messenger, Juliet smile. "Nikko never takes the easy road. There is still hope. Can you tell me anything about his opportunities?"

"The lost chance to defeat the darkness was for him to rise above his fear and open his heart to love. When the time came he fell victim to his fear and shut his heart. You have seen this."

Juliet thought back over Nikko's strange and unapproachable attitude over the last few weeks and realized the messenger was right. Nikko had shut everyone out; especially his father and no one loved that kid more than Dr. Zond.

"And the other chances?" she asked.

"Second, he must set aside his pride and trust another to help in a time of need. Should he fail that his last chance is to sacrifice himself to the unknown on a thinnest of hopes. Only thorough love, trust and hope can the power be used as it was intended. Fear, greed and anger will destroy everything."


	7. Chapter 7

Nikko was worried about his father and it was difficult to keep the fear from his mind. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen his father in hurt before. He shook his head and brought his focus back to the climb. Several meters below and about the same distance to his left, Vincent was making steady progress up the wall. Nikko wished he had the other man's ability to concentrate on a task. It was something Vincent had been teaching him during training but he couldn't always do it, especially when it came to his father.

Distracted by his thoughts the teenager failed to check his hand grip before he shifted position. The cracked stone under his hand sheered away from the wall causing his arm to swing free. Nikko's body swung back, prevented from falling only by the less than perfect grip of his other hand and the one secure foot placement. His heart pounded as adrenaline surged through his system, knowing that at any moment he could fall. Far below Nikko heard the loosed stone bounce once from the rock wall, hit the ground and skidding away.

"Nikko!"

The teenager heard Vincent's call but was frantically trying twist himself back to face the wall without weakening his hold and didn't have the time to answer. He managed the feat by taking a desperate lunge for and grabbing the closest hand-hold. Once secure Nikko leaned his head against the warm rock, and breathed deeply for a few moments.

"Are you all right Man?"

Nikko raised his head and nodded, looking up he examined the rock face directly above him. "Yeah, I'm fine, but there are fractures in the rock everywhere. It looks a lot worse on your side."

"Don't worry about me, just get yourself stabilised and anchored properly," Vincent instructed.

Nikko did what he was told and wedged an anchor deep into the strongest looking section of the broken wall and hooked his line to it. "I'm set."

Vincent began to climb again. Nikko looked over the other climber's line and was horrified to see a support working free from its placement. He was about to call a warning to his friend when the anchor gave way.

"No!" Nikko shouted as he watched Vincent drop almost ten meters down the wall before jerking to a sudden stop, his body spinning around to slam backward into the rock. Vincent grunted with the pain of the impact but Nikko was relieved to see him still moving, spreading his arms and legs in an attempt to stop the dangerous spin. Vincent quickly steadied himself and Nikko knew he would be all right.

"Vincent?"

Small stones and pebbles rained down on the other climber and Nikko looked up along Vincent's rope. The fall had obviously put too much weight on a broken section of stone because it had shifted. A large section of stone now hung precariously over Vincent's position, making it impossible for the man to climb up without the risk of dislodging it. If it fell Vincent would be hurt, maybe even killed.

"You'll have to transfer to one of the other lines." Nikko called down to the other man.

Vincent, looking upward, had seen his predicament and shook his head. "No if I put too much weight across the rock it will bring it down. It could compromise you as well. I'll have to go back down."

Going down the rope was only slightly less dangerous, Nikko knew any movement on the rope could see the broken section collapse. Besides that, Vincent carried the communications equipment. If the transmitter was damaged in any way, it would be Vincent who would have to repair it. For the other man to go down then begin the climb again would take a lot of time, they had already been gone over an hour. It was time his father may not have.

"Vincent, stay there. I'll climb laterally and then you can transfer to my line."

Vincent was quiet for a moment and appeared to be thinking it over. "Nikko, you'll never reach my line without risking yourself."

"I can make it. Just try to ease the pressure off your rope."

Nikko didn't wait for any more discussion, he was frightened enough already without hearing how impossible this was. As carefully as he could the teenager began to make his way across the damaged rock toward his companion's rope.

Looking down Nikko could see Vincent carefully moving his body to find a position where he would be able to support his own weight, but didn't watch for long. He was having trouble finding secure holds of his own.

Vincent was right; he was never going to reach the other rope. The fear was choking him. The rope looked so close, but it was well out of his reach, in desperation Nikko stretched for the rope. Vincent's words from their last session came back to him, _"Focus on the goal, not the task."_

Just as had happened with the can of soda, when he reached for it the rope moved the critical distance into his outstretched hands. Nikko's fingers closed around the thick cord and for a long moment he just stared at it. Then he remembered he wasn't alone and looked down toward Vincent, the other man's head was only just rising to face him; he hadn't seen how Nikko had gotten the rope.

The surprise on Vincent's face was plain to read, and he wasn't a man that was easy to surprise.

"I've got it. You can come across now," Nikko said looking away from Vincent and working on the lines, surprised how clam his voice sounded.

"How did you reach that?" Vincent asked.

The teenager looked across to where the rope had been and shrugged, still not looking toward Vincent. "What does it matter anyways? Are you climbing or what?"

"Someday you will have to tell me how you managed that."

Juliet took a futile step back as the sea began to wash over the floor of the altar level of the pyramid. Nothing of the temple remained above the water except the altar itself and even that seemed destined to sink. The young woman looked around frantically, there was no where to go. She had never told any of the Veritas team this, but she didn't like deep water. She was fine in a pool but swimming in the ocean, where she couldn't see or touch the bottom terrified her.

"Please, help me," Juliet begged the messenger as the water reached her hip-deep.

"Despite my warning you tell me you intend to let the world perish… yet you expect me to help you?" The messenger turned and walked away, unaffected by the rising water.

"No… wait, come back. Help me!"

The water reached her neck and Juliet began to struggle. The water rose and she tried again to call for help but couldn't keep her head above the surface. Choking and gagging on the salty water she desperately searched for anything to hold on to.

A hand grabbed hers and Juliet clung to it, using it to pull herself upward.

"Hey… hey, take it easy. You're okay. It was just a dream."

Through her panic it took Juliet a few moments to recognise Calvin's voice and she realised it was his hand she held. She found she was sitting up, wide awake and back in the cave the team had been exploring. She remembered Nikko handing her the box and the strange but very real feeling dream. She looked around and saw Dr. Zond resting on the ground nearby, propped up by one arm, watching her. Memory of the messenger from her dream with that same face turning away and leaving her to die in the rising water caused a shiver to run the length of her spine.

She didn't know what had happened to the team after the box had opened. Dr. Zond looked like he'd been through a ringer, and it was obvious the man was hurt and could barely move. She saw no sign of Nikko or Vincent anywhere.

"What happened?" Juliet asked.

"That's funny, I was going to ask you that," Zond said.

Juliet hook her head and didn't answer.

One of the communications handsets rang, and Calvin rushed to pick it up.

"Maggie! I can't tell you how great it is to hear your voice." The relief in Calvin's tone was obvious to the others as they listened to the one-way conversation.

"I'll tell them. No, Maggie, we're fine, everyone is all right here. Both Dr. Zond and Juliet are awake… Thanks Maggie. We'll be waiting for you."

Calvin turned the handset off and turned to his companions smiling. "Nikko and Vincent made it, and they fixed the transmitter and Maggie is sending a rescue team for us. They should be here in a couple of hours."


	8. Chapter 8

**New York**

Strong, gold-coloured sunlight streamed through the windows of the New York Veritas Foundation headquarters. Juliet sat at a computer terminal helping Maggie and Calvin work on deciphering one set of the inscriptions from the box they'd found. Where she sat she could see Nikko slouched in one of the more comfortable chairs reading. At least Juliet assumed he was reading, at the speed the kid was flipping through the pages of the thick book he would have little time to do more than glance at the pages. Not for the first time the teacher in her wondered exactly how smart her student really was. The intelligence test she given the teenager when they'd first met had shown a very high intelligence rating but Nikko had treated the test itself as a joke, and Juliet had always wondered if it had been an accurate measurement of his true potential.

The elevator pinged and Juliet, along with the rest of the team turned toward the office doors. The expected figure of Vincent was followed closely behind by Dr. Zond. The injured man moved stiffly and Juliet was sure he was still very sore. She had assumed he would be spending several more days in the hospital before he was released, and from the look on the faces of the other team members so did they.

"You checked yourself out early. Solomon, are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, Maggie, I'm fine. Just a little stiff is all."

Maggie nodded in acceptance but didn't look convinced. Juliet decided to follow the other woman's lead and not press the issue, even though she thought the archaeologist looked terrible.

Nikko watched his father with concern in his eyes but the boy said nothing.

"So, what have you come up with?" Zond asked, getting down to business.

"A few interesting things have surfaced," Maggie began.

The whole team gathered around the analysts work station, even Nikko put down his book and joining the group, standing next to his father.

"How interesting?" the teenager asked curiously.

Maggie smiled, "Well, Calvin was right, the inscriptions on the box are layered to include multiple coded messages. There are four distinct messages we've discovered so far."

"What do they say?" Vincent questioned.

"We've only been able to interpret two as of yet. The one Calvin deciphered at the site; the story of a girl who destroys her world through a selfish act, and this second level which seems to be the key to unlock the box… and that's where it begins to get interesting."

Pressing several keys on her keyboard Maggie brought up a representation of the data found in the second code.

"That looks like DNA," Solomon said astonished.

"It is," Maggie confirmed. "Or to be more specific, it is a genetic pattern for the X chromosome."

Juliet felt a chill was though her. "As in the chromosome that determines that a person is female? Are you saying the key to opening that box is female genetics?"

Maggie nodded. "Exactly, whoever built that box wanted it to be opened by a woman. When Juliet touched it, the X chromosome in her DNA was the key and the box opened."

"To what purpose?" Dr. Zond asked.

Maggie shrugged and shook her head. "That I don't know."

"I do," Juliet interrupted. "It's retribution for the acts of the girl who destroyed their temple."

"Doesn't seem like the punishment really fits the crime, I mean, come on… this girl destroys their whole culture and all they do is give someone a few bad dreams?"

"Let's be grateful it wasn't worse," Dr. Zond said.

Juliet wore a smile but it was forced. The punishment was harder than Nikko, or any of the team, knew. She hadn't been able to tell them the details of her nightmare and had said nothing of the warning the messenger had given her. The burden of choice and the weight of responsibility forced on her by the box… along with the insecurity of not knowing if any of it was real was a harsh punishment indeed.

_It couldn't have been real, it had to have been a dream_, Juliet thought. Nikko is just an ordinary kid, he has no special powers.

Solomon pointed to a few lines of script displayed at the bottom of Maggie's screen.

"What's this?"

"That is the other interesting thing. Juliet's working on it and I think it is the key to deciphering the next layer of the code, but what's really interesting is that it spells out a name… the name Kukulcán."** 3**

Solomon's jaw dropped. "Kukulcán, but that's impossible."

"All right, I give in. Who's this Kukulcán guy?" Nikko asked glancing around at the rest of the team.

Vincent shrugged. "Don't ask me, I hit people for a living."

"He's a god of the ancient cultures of the South American Toltec and Maya," Calvin explained. "But I couldn't even guess how his name came to be engraved in Greek on a Lycian artefact."

"I don't know either, but we're going to find out." Dr Zond promised.

Finita


End file.
